France
Geography
Location
Located in Western Europe
Borders the Bay of Biscay and English
Channel
Between Belgium and Spain, southeast of
the United Kingdom
Bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between
Italy and Spain
Climate
Generally cool winters and mild
summers,
Mild winters and hot summers along the
Mediterranean
• Occasional strong, cold, dry, north-tonorthwesterly wind known as mistral
Terrain
Mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in
north and west
Remainder is mountainous, especially in
Pyrenees in the south and the Alps in the
East
Land utility
• For farming
– Arable land: 33.46% permanent crops: 2.03%
permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland:
27%
other: 18%
Environment
Natural Resources
Coal, iron ore, bauxite,
zinc, uranium, antimony,
arsenic, potash, feldspar,
fluorospar, gypsum,
timber and fish
Natural hazards:
Flooding
Avalanches
Midwinter windstorms
Drought and forest fires
in south near the
Mediterranean
Current issues:
Some forest damage from
acid rain
Air pollution from
industrial and vehicle
emissions
Water pollution from
urban wastes and
agricultural runoff
Regions of France
The French Republic has 4 overseas territories
due to its history as a colonial power.
They have the same status as metropolitan regions,
much like Hawaii’s equal status to a continental U.S.
state.
They are overseas départements (département
d'outre-mer, or DOM, with the same status as a
département of metropolitan France
• These overseas departments, unlike overseas collectivities,
are represented in National Assembly, Senate and Economic
and Social Council, elect a Member of the European
Parliament, (MEP), and also use the Euro as their currency.
French Guiana
Location: Northern South
America, bordering the North
Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil
and Suriname
Climate: Tropical; hot, humid
Little seasonal temperature
variation
Terrain: Low-lying coastal
plains rising to hills and small
mountains
Farmland: arable land 0.13%,
permanent crops 0.04%, other
99.83% (90% forest, 10%
other)
Natural Resources: gold
deposits, petroleum, kaolin,
niobium, tantalum and clay
Martinique
Location: Caribbean
Island between the
Caribbean Sea and North
Atlantic Ocean, north of
Trinidad and Tobago
Climate: subtropical
tempered by trade winds
Moderately high humidity,
rainy season, June to
October
Vulnerable to devastating
cyclone, hurricanes, every
eight years on average
Terrain: mountainous with
indented coastline; dormant
volcano
Farmland: arable land
9.09%, permanent crops
10.0%, other 80.91%
Guadeloupe
Location: Caribbean
Islands between the
Caribbean Sea and North
Atlantic Ocean, southeast of
Puerto Rico
Climate: subtropical
tempered by trade winds;
moderately high humidity
Rainy season, June to
October,
Vulnerable to devastating
cyclones, hurricanes, every
eight years on average
Terrain: volcanic in origin
with interior mountains
Reunion
Location: Southern Africa
Island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar
Climate: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation
Cool and cry, May to November
Hot and rainy, November to April
Terrain: mostly Rugged and Mountainous, fertile lowlands along coast
Farmland: arable land 13.94%, permanent crops 1.59%, other 84.47%
History
The name France comes from
the Latin word Francia which
means “land of the Franks” or
“Frankland”
Gaul
The region of modern France is
approximately the same as the
ancient country called Gaul
• 1st century BC Gaul captured by
Julies Caesar
• 2nd – 3rd century AD Roman
culture had been incorporated
into society
• 4th century AD the eastern
border of Gaul around the
Rhine was taken over by
Germanic tribes, mostly by the
Franks
• 843 AD the Treaty of Verdun
ended Charlemagne’s control
of France.
• The treaty divided the
Charlemagne’s Carolingian
Empire into three parts,
Easter Francia, Middle
Francia, Western Francia
• Modern France is composed
of the land of Western Francia
France
• France was ruled by Carolingians until 987
AD when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and
Count of Paris, was crowned King of
France
• The French monarchy reached its peak with
Louis XIV
• 1789: French Revolution ended the rule of
the monarchy.
• During the revolution, the monarchs King
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed
Napoleon Bonaparte
• 1799: Napoleon Bonaparte
gained control of the
Republic
• Bonaparte named himself
Emperor of the First French
Empire (1804 – 1814)
• 1815: Battle of Waterloo,
Bonaparte's defeat and exile
• Afterwards, France
transitioned through a series
of republics and empires
Timeline of Republics and Empires
1792 – 1804:
French Republic
1780
1800
1848 – 1852:
French Second Republic
1820
1840
1870-1940:
French Third Republic
1860
1804 – 1814:
French First Empire
1852-1870:
French Second Empire
Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte,
Napoleon I
Emperor Louis-Napoleon
Bonaparte, aka Napoleon III
1880
1900
1958 - Present:
French Fifth Republic
1920
1940
1960
1946-1958:
French Fourth
Republic
1980
2000
Important Wars
• 1789 – 1799: French
Revolution
• July 18, 1815: Battle of
Waterloo Bonaparte's defeat
• July 19, 1870 - May 10, 1871:
Franco-Prussian War
• 1914 – 1918: World War I
• 1939 – 1945: World War II
French Revolution
• December 1946 - August 1954:
First Indochina War
Military
Branches:
• Army
• Navy
• Air Force
• National Gendarmerie
• No longer constrictive service.
• Minimum eligible age is 17.
• Women are able to serve
however as non-combative
units.
• The current available service
members are:
• males age 17-49: 13,676,509
females age 17-49: 13,504,539
(CIA 2005 est.)
• They spend an approximated 2.6%
of their GDP on military. This
amounts to:
$48,646,000,000,000
Culture
Literature and Poetry
• The French language was not yet a uniform
language but it was split up into several oil
dialects
• French literature originated in the Middle Ages
• Including: Tristan and Iseult and Lancelot-Grail
• Much of French poetry was influenced by the
Matter of France, a tale of epics
• French Poetry: Perrout de Saint Cloude’s “Roman de
Renart”
Famous Literature and Authors
• Arthur François Rabelais’s work was very influential to
the French language
• Chrétien de Troyes was an important writer from the
Medieval times
• 18th and 19th century, during the Renaissance, was the
height of French literature and poetry
• Writers like Voltaire and Jean Jacques-Rousseau emerged
• Famous French literature:
• The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and The Hunchback of Notre
Dame.
Sports
• Popular sports include
basketball, handball, rugby
union, and football (soccer)
• France hosts the annual Tour
de France
• Most famous road bicycle race
in the world
• France is also famous for the
24 Hours of Le Mans
competition
• It is a sports car endurance race
• The national football team and
national rugby team are
nicknamed “Les Bleus,” the
blues
Marianne
• Marianne is the
symbol of the
French Republic.
She represents
liberty and appeared
during the French
Revolution
Landmarks
• Mont Saint Michel is a
site in France that is
popular to tourists
• The Eiffel Tower is a
major landmark in Paris,
France
• The Palais des papes
(Palace of popes) in
Avignon is also a major
landmark.
Mont Saint Michel
Palais des papes
Eiffel Tower
Food
• French cuisine:
• Emphasis on famous
French wine
• Champagne, coming from
the Champagne region of
France
• Cheeses
• Produces over 400 kinds of
cheeses
• Cooking styles.
• The most exquisite cuisines
are called haute cuisine.
Art
• Art in ancient France can be
traced back to the Paleolithic
age (10,000 – 32,000 yrs ago).
• Cave paintings have been found
in Altamira, Font de Gaume,
Lascaux, Les Combarelles,
Niaux Cave and Les Trois
Frères.
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir and
Claude Monet are among the
most famous painters from
France.
• They were part of the
impressionist art movement in
Europe
Painting by Claude Monet
Important Facts about Culture
• The French national flag was made during the French Revolution.
• It is a tricolor flag with vertical bands of blue, white, and red. The flag was
made famous by Marquis de Lafayette
• The origin of the French kingdom is dated to 496 because it marks
three important features of the country which are:
• The definition of a territorial boundary
• The definition of a power rule (succession by heir)
• The definition of a social system
• 3 groups of people: warriors, priests, and workers
• France’s motto is “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité’ (Liberty, Equality,
Brotherhood)
• Since 1880, the national holiday of France is the Fête Nationale
(National Holiday). It is celebrated on the 14th of July. It
celebrates the Fête de la Fédération..
Demographics
• Total population: 62, 752, 136
• Language: French 100% with rapidly declining regional
dialects and languages of Povencal, Breton, Alsatian,
Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish
• Birthrate of 11.99 births/1,000 population and death rate
of 9.14 deaths/1,000 population
• Religion: Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%,
Jewish 1%, Muslim 5-10%, unaffiliated 4%
• Race: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North
African, Indochinese, Basque minorities
• Country’s population sharply increased with the baby
boom following World War II
French Republic
Republiqe Francaise
(The French Republic)
France is a republic with Paris as her
capital. (The fifth republic)
The nation is composed of twenty-six
regions, four of which are overseas. Of the
22 regions, there are 96 metropolitan
departments.
Independence- 486 AD
Bastille Day
Bastille Day, 14 July 1790
is the National Holiday.
Contrary to popular belief,
Bastille Day celebrates the
first anniversary following
the storming of the
Bastille in 1789.
The French Republic
France has universal
suffrage with
minimum age of
eighteen.
Women attained
suffrage in 1944.
Accepted currency:
the Euro, adopted on
1 January 2002
4 October 1958 the
French constitution
enacted and revised
in 1962.
The French Republic
The three branches of government include the
executive, legislative and judicial.
The president is elected every five years.
President Chirac has been in power since 1995.
 The prime minister is
appointed by the president and
confirmed by the parliament.
Dominique De Villepin is the
current prime minister.
President Chirac (front) and
Dominique De Villepin (back)
The French Republic
The parliament comprises of
a National Assembly and
Senate.
The National Assembly is
directly elected by the
French people with 577
members in five year terms.
The French National
Assembly (Paris)
Through an electoral college,
318 are elected to the Senate
with nine year terms and one
third up of seats are up for
election.
A constitutional council
provides as a check system
for the parliament. Members
of this council are appointed.
The French Republic
The court system is set in civil law.
A case can move from courts, courts of
appeal, and as the court of last resort, Cour
de cassation.
Other courts in France include Conseil d’Etat,
which accepts administrative cases (which Cour de
cassation holds no jurisdiction)
Courts of Assizes which tries crimes of severity
through three judges and nine jurors.
Those tried are presumed innocent until
proven guilty.
Political Parties
Rassemblement pour la République
(Chirac’s party)
The Socialist party
Union pour la Democratie Française
French Communist party
French Communist Party
Headquarters
Government
Organizations
European Union (EU)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
United Nations Security Council permanent
member.
World Trade Organization
World Health Organization
OSCE, International Labor Organization
G-5, G-7, G-8, and G-10.
Government
Organizations, cont’d
Under the UN Security council, from 1946-2003
France has used her veto power eighteen times.
France is also an original member of the
European Union (beginning in 1957) which was
originally title as the European Community.
France and Germany have strengthened their
relationship since WWII, encouraging stronger
defenses of the EU.
French Flag
The flag is known as “Le drapeau
tricolore”.
Economics
Economics
• France has one of the higher income equality
indexes in the world with a Gini index of
26.7
– Inflation rate: 1.5%
• Agricultural Products: machinery, chemicals,
automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft,
electronics; textiles, food processing; tourism
• Just over 48 million people have cell phones in
France and there are 35.7 million hard
telephone lines. 29.5 million use the internet.
French Economy
• The 2006 GDP is $1.871 trillion
• France has a labor force of 27.88
million people with an unemployment
rate of 8.7% in 2006
• In 2004, 6.2% of the population lived
below the poverty line.
• 0.2% industrial growth rate
French Exports
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
machinery and transportation equipment
aircraft
plastics
chemicals
pharmaceutical products
iron and steel
beverages
French Imports
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Germany 18.9%
Belgium 10.7%
Italy 8.3%
Spain 7%
Netherlands 6.6%
UK 5.9%
US 5.1%
All Sources
•"France." The World Factbook: CIA. 15 Mar. 2007. 20 Mar. 2007
<https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/fr.html>.
•"France." World Perspective Monde. 20 Mar. 2007
<http://worldperspective.usherbrooke.ca/bilan/pays/FRA/en.html>.
•"French Government." Discover France. 20 Mar. 2007
<http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/DF_govt.shtml>.
•"Government of France." Wikipedia. 16 Mar. 2007. 20 Mar. 2007
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_France#Judiciary>.
•"France/Transnational Issues." Wikipedia. 20 Mar. 2007
<http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/wiki/France/Transnational_issues>.
•France." Wikipedia. 19 Mar. 2007. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. 20 Mar.
2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France>.
•"Culture of France." Travour.Com. 2006. 20 Mar. 2007
<http://www.travour.com/tours-to-france/culture-of-france/index.html>.
•"Geography of France." Wikipedia. 16 Mar. 2007. 20 Mar. 2007
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_France>.